The History of Parking Lots

The History of Parking Lots

Parking for Early Transportation in the 1400’s

The first known transport began in the 1400’s and was all about horses, and later stagecoaches. As more people began to ride horses, parking became necessary. Horses were parked by tying them to posts, which were lined up, just our modern day parking lots of today have our cars lined up. This type of parking was used until the late 1800’s when automobiles were invented. Until Ford, though, cars were made slowly, so not many people had them. Parking in the early 1900’s still was not a problem.

Parking in the Late 1800’s-1900’s

Since Henry Ford’s 1908’s invention of the assembly line, cars became more common. Eventually more people had cars and parking lots became a necessity. The cars were so large in those days that the only parking that was possible in lots was the diagonal parking.

This type of parking was very organized and clean. But there were still improvements to be made. The cars were so large that the parking spaces in the lot had to be big to accommodate them. The parking lots of those days were huge by today’s standard and the size of the spaces was just as great. Parking in one of the far spots would mean that you had a very long walk to get to the building. Some places began to use the head first method of parking, but these spots needed even more room than the diagonal ones.

The Modern Parking Lot

Then in the 1960’s and 70’s compact cars made their entrance into transportation. Along with the compact cars, the parking lots became smaller and more useful. It meant that parking could be much simpler and closer to your destination. Parking lots appeared everywhere, as the roads became more congested. The most common parking lots today are multi-level garage types usually attached to the mall or building.

Problems with Multi-Level Parking

Aside from sometimes forgetting where your car is parked, and the lots being so large there are other problems. Crime seems to be simple in these types of lots, there are so many cars, and so many people moving around that break-ins are common. Many times when you come out of a parking lot like this one, you will find that your car has been dented or hit, and there is nobody around to even ask if they saw something. The worst problem for these parking lots, by far, is the danger. There are so many stories of lonely women walking to their cars after work and being attacked; there is almost an unlimited number of hiding places for criminals.

Future Parking Lots

Now that parking lots have come so far from where they started, and the problems are clear, the situation is sure to get better. In the future, there is a chance that no one will even recognize what today is known as parking. Israel, hopefully, will be one of the countries to lead this development.